Boiling Point
The crew and guests on board the GMF Athena begin to show the strain of their situation. Main Corridor ''' ---- Tall and narrow, formed from the repetative pattern of structural ribwork and bulkheads, the long corridor runs down the spine of the rugged starship. Light washes up from below, from recessed coves hidden along each wall's lower portion, giving the illusion that the gridded metal floor floats. Forward is the bridge, while aft leads to the engineering section. Port and starboard sit a pair of oversized pressure hatches recessed into matching service niches, while in three locations the corridor widens: at the gangways leading down to the airlock, crew quarters and sickbay. ---- Cruyer is pacing up and down the corridor reading a datapad. Frustration is written upon his face. Wiendrbac enters the corridor from the airlock, amber warning lights flashing as the heavy hatchway closes behind. Raisa pads out of one of the cargo holds, carrying her pda as she makes notes on it, frown creasing her forehead. On closer inspection, Cruyer is not merely frustrated. He is also very tired. There are deep lines under his eyes, and the hand in which he carries the datapad is tremoring slightly as he paces back and forth. He shakes his head angrily at whatever it is he is reading. Wiendrbac comes in from the Airlock, arms clasped behind his back. "Minister?" Raisa inquires softly, lifting one brow slightly. "Perhaps you should get some rest. You do not look well..." "It's impossible to get any bloody rest when you have a bunch of incompetents working for you!" says Cruyer, clearly -- and uncharacteristically -- furious. "The Royal Institutes for Health are-- I mean, I ask you, Ms. Amondella, we are now three months in to the new fiscal year and they /still/ have not completed their budgets. Now they have sent me this ridiculous letter asking for /more/ /bloody/ /time/! The interdepartmental working group last night meets and dithers, and dithers, and dithers. This whole bloody government is full of ditherers and dalliers who put off decisions as long as bloody possible before deciding to do nothing at all. It's absolutely outrageous!" As he rants his face goes redder and redder. "We should be taking action! We should be-- we should be-- God dammit, we shouldn't be just sitting here doing bloody nothing, and maybe if people realized that this whole mission wouldn't have been such an enormous fiasco." Wiendrbac is still calmly approaching the group, even as Cruyer begans his rant. "Understood, sir. That is how government works, I was informed." The LTDF soldier glances over to Amondella, before looking back at Cruyer. "I'm sorry to hear that your having problems on the hone front, though." "Thank you for the compliment, Minister," Raisa notes mildly, with a certain amount of amusement lacing through her voice. Despite Cruyer's obvious fury, the Lunite remains calm, no indication of fear or annoyance passing over her features. She studies the Sivadian for a moment, before nodding her head, eying Wiendrbac as he interrupts. "He speaks the truth, Minister. That is the very nature of government, from my own personal experience. It takes an extraordinary person to push the others along. Come now, this is not the time for getting frustrated. There are innocents out there in need of help, and that is why you are here, is it not?" Cruyer laughs a harsh laugh. "Ahh, but you've hit upon the essential point, Ms. Amondella!" he cries. "There are innocents in need of help. And we are all going to wait around and let them turn into slugs until Sivad is hit! And then... mark my words... you and I will be standing there... right there on the landing pad at Independence Dome and... and... and..." The minister doesn't seem able to continue. He lapses into a silence and the anger slowly drains away from him. He shakes his head and stares off into the distance. The Lieutenant goes silent, arms still clasped behind his back, throwing a wary glance at the black haired secretary. "Uhhhh... sir, Do you have any news of the Jackal that collapsed? I believe Captain Ranix took her into her custody." "Standing by is foolish, but at the moment, according to Doctor Lind, there is no other choice," Raisa replies crossly. "I can understand your desire to do something, however, at times like this, patience is important. While it would be ideal to have Volari caught, since he might have his own cure for this virus, it would be impossible, and possibly a waste of resources to run around the universe." Her gaze then shifts to Wiendrbac for a moment, brow arching. Cruyer is brought back to this world by this statement. He smiles sadly and shakes his head. "Why does no one understand the sheer... the sheer /perversity/ of Lind's plan? He wants us to sit back and /wait for another attack/. And Ms. Amondella, do you realize what that means? Do you realize how ridiculous that is?" He laughs again. It is not a good laugh. "If Volari wants to screw us, he doesn't have to attack. If Volari wants to screw us, he will never attack again. And a billion Waldheimers will live out the rest of their lives as slugs. And the whole Demarian race will be destroyed. That's what Lind's plan means. Volari's ship is called the Strategic Retreat. Our bloody ship should be called the Cowardly Retreat, the Retreat from Action, the Retreat from Facing Reality..." He shakes his head slowly and blinks off into space for a moment and for a moment it looks like he might weep. But then it seems to occur to him that Wiendrac said something. "The Jackal... Captain Tachyon collapsed? Is she infected? I didn't like her when I first met her but I must admit we owe her. She's been a great help." "Lind's plan is the only one we have, sir." Wiendrbac said, eyes tensing briefly with pain. "I don't like the taste it leaves in my mouth anymore then you, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have merit." The soldier finally shrugs, as if to chase away an involuntary shudder. "Yes, I believe it was Captain Tachyon, sir. Marlan informed me that she has been infected, unfortunatly, but I lost contact shortly after. So, you don't know, I'm assuming?" "You think I like the idea of his plan?" Raisa retorts. "I have friends spread about throughout the universe, many on planets that could very easily be the next target." She lets out a harsh breath, raking her fingers through her hair. "I doubt Volari would attack Sivad next. It's too likely. Volari /knows/ that we would plan for it." She paces herself a little bit, frowning darkly. "If there is another attack made, and I don't know if there /would/ be one made, but my bet would be a planet that isn't as heavily protected as Sivad." She looks almost accusingly at Wiendrbac. "La Terre, or Antimone. Maybe even Quaquan." She then frowns. "Unfortunate about the Jackal." Cruyer is quiet now, all the bluster gone. "I don't know what happened to her, I'm sorry," he replies to Wiendrbac softly. He ruminates on this for a moment. Then he remembers something. "Oh... Ms. Amondella, there's something I need to show you." He brings something up on his datapad and passes it to Raisa. It is a message from Cruyer's ministerial office containing a photograph of a piece of paper. The piece of paper has a message on it in ransom-note style, made of cut up magazines and newspapers: "YoU'Re REal brAVE whEN you GOt your MILitIA lackIES proTECTing YOU BuT HOW aRE you GOinG to FEel whEN I siNK my claWs into YOur NECK? YoU KIllED the DEMaRIAns. YOU'rE NexT." "Hopefully not La Terre." There is no hesitation in his voice when Raisa mentions possible targets. "I do believe he'll strike one of the smaller OATO worlds or Mars next. Ungstir and Luna are very unlikely, do to their structures." He pauses when Cruyer passes the datapad, a single eyebrow raising up to express curiosity. "I would suggest you don't wander about without someone to watch out for you then, Minister," Raisa replies mildly, studying the pda carefully. "If you want, I'll watch you for the time being, until another form of escort can be arranged. I would not be too concerned, however, Minister. You're in a position of power, and some people blame you for the massacre on Demaria. It's natural that you would receive threats." Cruyer nods. "I'm not concerned," he says airily. "SHIELD is looking into the matter and of course my office will be careful with any suspicious packages. I wanted to let you know, though, Ms. Amondella. I am certain this is just the output of some crank, but if they harbour feelings of ill-will toward me, they may not like you terribly much either. In any event, I doubt we're in very much danger out here." "A threat?" Wiendrbac chuckles, a grim sound. "I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, like you said." The soldier's hands return to their position behind his back, shifting his posture slightly. "Do you know when we'll be leaving to speak with the Overmind?" "It's nothing new, Minister. At least in my case," Raisa replies with a shrug. "People don't like me anyway. A credit for every time I got threatened, and I'd be a very rich woman, and wouldn't need to work." She actually seems somewhat amused by all of this. "But, until this gets put in hand, I'll be sure to keep an eye on you, to ensure no claws enter your neck." Cruyer smiles and nods. "Thank you, Ms. Amondella. I appreciate it," he says. "Oh... and... this regisan thing that has been in the news... there's something you should probably know..." he adds, and pauses. The LTDF official remains silent, listening. "Minister...?" Raisa inquires, drawing her brows together slightly. "What would that be?" Voliarin enters from the starboard cargo facility. "It's..." replies the Minister. Then he pauses and shakes his head with a faint smile. "No. No, it's not important. One crisis at a time, right?" He puts on his best game face. "We can deal with it when we return to Sivad." Wiendrbac's eyes narrow as Cruyer seems to ignore him, but doesn't pressure further, instead drawing a hand out from behind to glance at his watch. "Are you sure that you don't want to tell me now?" Raisa encourages, smiling slightly. "It's not a problem so I have an idea of what to expect when we return to Sivad." "We need to say focused," replies Cruyer. He turns to Wiendrbac. "I do not know when we are leaving. I suspect that in order to avoid drawing attention to our mission only one ship will go. In fact, I think yours might be a good bet, if you are willing. But I have not discussed it with Admiral Lind." Voliarin emerges from the starboard cargo hold. The Vollistan glowing a dark green color, and is holding a source of consciousness in hand: Instant coffee. "There is enough room on the Peacemaker..." Wiendrbac begans with a hesitant edge to his voice. "Speak with Vice-Admiral Lind, sir. If he approves, we can take the Peacemaker, though it may be crowded." He spots the Vollistan out of the corner of his eye, nods politely. "Hello, sir." Raisa lifts a hand in friendly greeting to Voliarin, smiling an affectionate greeting, but doesn't remove herself from her current conversation. "How cramped would you expect your ship to be?" she inquires. "Exactly how much support do you expect to return with you?" Silvereye steps into the main corridor from the ward room, paws pocketed into his jacket and a neutral experssion on his features. He looks more rested then he has been, but at the same time looks far from happy. Cruyer nods. "I will discuss it with him." He yawns expansively. "For now... I think I should try to get some rest," he admits. ~Volir's light.~ Voliarin greets as he takes another step out from the impromptu medical staging area. He takes a drink of his coffee. "Yes, sir." Wiendrbac responds to Cruyer, before turning to Raisa. "It has a minimal safety limit of 30. Most of the room is used up for our equipment, being a cruiser." "Sleep well, Minister," Raisa replies gently. "You really need to get at least a few hours of rest." As Wiendrbac speaks to her, she nods her head, "I see..." she says, before her gaze continues on to Voliarin. "I didn't expect you to be on the Athena of all ships..." Silvereye approaches the small throng of people, having just left the wardroom. "Morning." He greets, then after a pause and a frustrated flick of his ear. "Or evening. Hells I don't know which." He shrugs. A weary looking Marlan steps out of medical services. Shoulder stopping she steps out. She appears surprised at the people collected there, suddenly straightening." Cruyer, meanwhile, heads toward the wardroom. He looks more than weary -- he looks like he may fall over at any moment. His face is drawn, his eyes are lined and his skin is pale. ~I didn't really expect to be here either.~ Voliarin comments, ~But oops, it must have kind of happened this way. I brought my equipment with me though so hopefully it'll be okay. Too bad my investigation hasn't brought up all that much yet. I even took the classes on human based demonology and it isn't too helpful.~ he then stops the complaining. ~I'm okay though, how are you?~ he finally asks Raisa, managing a smile. "Human based demonology?" Wiendrbac repeats Voliarin, obviously confused. Then his eyes fall on the weary Marlan, turning to Raisa. "Excuse me." With that, he turns and begans to walk toward the Captain of the Athena. Silvereye's attention is drawn away from the group as Marlan enters from the starboard cargo hold. He flicks his tail in greeting to her and offers a verbal "Captain." to accompany it. He glances back at Rin, quirking an eyeridge. Raisa dips her head in reply to Wiendrbac, before giving Rin a smile, "I see... well, I'm sure I'll feel safe with you around, Rin," she says cheerfully. "Let me know if I can help you with anything." '''That evening... 'Main Corridor ' ---- Tall and narrow, formed from the repetative pattern of structural ribwork and bulkheads, the long corridor runs down the spine of the rugged starship. Light washes up from below, from recessed coves hidden along each wall's lower portion, giving the illusion that the gridded metal floor floats. Forward is the bridge, while aft leads to the engineering section. Port and starboard sit a pair of oversized pressure hatches recessed into matching service niches, while in three locations the corridor widens: at the gangways leading down to the airlock, crew quarters and sickbay. ---- Kastaprulyi is paused off to the side of the hallway, emanating a sense of puzzlement. The little Centauran, after a moment, drifts off toward the temporary medical bay. Amanda walks back out into the corridor "Have they quit?" Cruyer follows after Amanda. "Has who quit?" he asks urgently. Renkek Kashaan walks out moments later and looks around likely having heard some noise from the wardroom and he shrugs as he looks around nodding to those present. Kastaprulyi slows and suggests an uncertain greeting to those leaving the wardroom. "Captain Ranix, mister Lind seemed like they were arguing about Ekaterina Innokentevna," Kas offers. Amanda nods "I think about her having returned the godess clone to the Nall and contributing to the war perhaps...at any rate it's pointless considering I could have been exposed to the virus "You WHAT?" asks Cruyer. Kastaprulyi returns a puzzled feeling to Amanda. "You're saying the arguing isn't good for anything?" Kas adds. Amanda nods "in all liklihood I wasn't assuming the sui was working properly. Mika tachyon is infected. She's in quaranteen but her crew may also have been exposed. I panicked for a moment myself Voliarin enters the corridor from the airlock, amber warning lights flashing as the heavy hatchway closes behind. Raisa enters the corridor from the airlock, amber warning lights flashing as the heavy hatchway closes behind. Renkek Kashaan listens and blinks as he does so. He sighs as he thinks of something who knows what. "I don't believe this," says Cruyer incredulously. "I do not bloody believe this. You are telling us that you may have been infected and you have not been tested, nor have you been quarantined? First of all, what were you doing with Tachyon without a suit -- we've known she was probably infected since the beginning! So instead you put the whole bloody crew in danger." "Probably we should call some PHS people now," Kas points out, fishing under its bell for a commlink, "for testing, just in case." Voliarin is glowing a dark green color as he comes in towards the airlock. In her profession, Cruyer's raised voice means that this Lunite is about to go back on duty... Raisa lifts her head somewhat, fingers tightening around her cup of coffee, before tugging on Rin's hand, trying to give it back to the Vollistan before stepping forward, shaking back her hair from her tired face. "Minister? What seems to be the problem?" she inquires politely, striding forward, with or without the cup. Her hands clench together into fists, eyes scanning each face present, searching for something. Amanda blinks "I was in a suit and took a decontamination shower. The suit was in working order so I should be fine. I just got a bit excited particulary because her idiot boyfriend wants to remove her from quarrantine' Cruyer sighs and nods, pinching the bridge of his nose. "All right... what were Ranix and Lind fighting about?" he asks. Kastaprulyi hovers a short ways down the hall from Amanda, Cruyer, and Renkek, who are outside the wardroom. At Amanda's clarification, little Centauran drops its arms uncertainly. Kas offers a feeling of greeting to Raisa and Voliarin. Voliarin takes the coffee back, he doesn't drink it though. ~It'll be hot when you come back for it.~ the Vollistan promises. Raisa flashes a brief smile in reply to the Vollistan as she walks. "Thanks, Rin," she says softly, before approaching Cruyer, clearing her throat slightly. "Minister? Is everything alright?" Her voice is carefully wiped clean of all emotion, face having undergone a similar undertaking, only remaining politely interested. Anorelezuixal enters the corridor from the airlock, amber warning lights flashing as the heavy hatchway closes behind. Amanda shrugs "Lind made a remark about katya innokentevna being a coward. Kata is related to Marlan ranix so a whole bunch of shouting ensued the important part is what parcipated the argument in the first place, the virus has ungstiri origins, they suspect a sample was taken from an ungstiri who was infected with the virus first time around "No, Amanda, the important part is that we can't afford to have these two people fighting with each other! Do you understand how critical they are to the mission? You're supposed to be our bloody diplomat and you let the two most important officers in the PHS have a little spat in the corridor? Unbelievable!" Cruyer shakes his head. "Oh and I'll tell you another thing. I didn't really appreciate your complete lack of support last night. You just sat there when the bloody committee decided to do fuck all about New Alhira. I don't know where your vaunted foreign policy experience was then." Renkek Kashaan listens and blinks to the conversation nothing of commentary at the moment. He blinks at cruyer a bit, though says nothing. Kastaprulyi remains quiet during the continued yelling in the hallway, drifting closer to Voliarin. "What're you helping with?" it asks curiously in a quite spoken tone. Amanda blinks "My lack of support regarding what exactly..You really would have supported sending the RNS in there to restore order. As for Lind and ranix i bloody tried. I could have fallen over dead in the damn corridor they wouldn't have paid me any mind Boomer waddles into the room, holding his head. "SHUT THE FUCK UP!" He bellows out from the ward room's entrance. "ALL I FUCKIN' HEAR FROM YOU LOUD MOUTH SHITS ARE COMPLAINTS AND ARGUING, GOD DAMMIT. IF YOU KEEP YELLING, I'M GOING TO COME OUT AND THROW YOUR ASSES OUT!" The fat man stomps back into the ward room, disappearing again. Renkek Kashaan coughs at boomer "That's not how to do things friend." he blinks " Let the Captain handle it if she needs too." Anorelezuixal floats in from the airlock of the ship, and nearly flies backwards at the mental assault it is subjected to from the sheer amount of mental anguish and hostility dripping of the minds of some present. It remains silent, either not having anything to say or unable to do so. Raisa clears her throat yet again, "Minister," she says firmly, her voice lifting slightly in volume. She steps closer, within firing range of both Sivadian politicians, tightening her jacket around her slightly. "This is not exactly the place to be discussing this, if it needs to be discussed at all. You both represent the same party on Sivad, and now is the time be showing /unity/ not petty anger towards each other." "I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU BLOODY TRY, BOOMER, I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU BLOODY TRY!" Cruyer shouts back at him before turning his attention to Amanda. He continues to ignore Raisa. "I mean, /Minister/, that for someone who's supposed to be the bright light of the Foreign Office you might have given the situation a little more thought before you decided that nothing could be done. I don't know why the bloody hell all we seem to be able to do is sit around. Now I've got to write a bloody report to the cabinet saying we should do nothing for the New Alhirans and wait patiently for Volari to attack! It's bad enough trying to get the bloody Tories to act, but it's criminal when you can't even get your own party on board with the fact that we HAVE TO BLOODY DO SOMETHING!" Cruyer's face is now beet read. ~Humans are also known for having excessive amounts of stress, which shortens their life spans as well.~ Voliairn comments, mostly to Raisa. Then he walks foward towards the two ministers. ~Stop.~ he sends simply. ~You two, sit down somewhere and settle this, without shouting.~ the tone keeping a calm tone for now, the Vollistan seeming more... professional. Kastaprulyi seems to close off briefly from the emotions running wild in the narrow hallway, shifting off to the side. The little Centauran suggests an acknowledgment to Voliarin, and tries to slip quickly over to the side of the adult Centauran. Amanda sighs "I offerred an option which was quicly and flatly rejected. I wanted the Imperatrix to be involved in appealing to the New alhirans to let the PHS back on the ground. I'm not sendiing our people back down into rampant chaos without some kind of diplomatic overture. Any diplomatic overture by the way is a particularly hard sale when we can't medically do anything. You don't think this is driving me crazy. everybody seems more concerned with fighting each other than finding a cure ~Humans can be prone to violence at times, especially when under great emotional stress,~ Anorelezuixal casts telepathically to Kas. It moves close to the smaller Centauran, and urges it back with a light telekinetic tug. ~I hope that no such incident occurs here, but some of the humans present are obviously very impassioned at the moment.~ A mental image of Cruyer leaks out. ~Try and stay out of their way until this ends.~ "To fight is the very nature of some species, Minister," Raisa notes softly, shaking her head. She then returns her gaze to her employer, straightening herself up slightly. "Minister. This is not the place for such a debate. It should be behind closed doors, and thought out reasonably, as your titles suggest you two should be able to do." Cruyer swings around to face Raisa and for a moment seems about to shout at her. But he thinks better of it. Instead he says, with forced calmness, "That won't me necessary, Ms. Amondella. I have nothing more to say to the Minister." Voliarin takes a step back now, backing up and seeming to calm down. ~Well, that's better.~ he sends. Kastaprulyi pauses and suggests faintly worried agreement to Anorelezuixal. ~I don't know if anybody'd try stopping violence on Athena between people who weren't strangers and weren't trying to kill each other,~ Kas notes. Anorelezuixal raises a tentacle and places it on tope of Kastaprulyi's upper bell. ~Hopefully they will resolve this peaceable. I doubt there is much we can do in this situation, as the alien nature of humans in comparison to our normal biology and thought patterns can sometimes make communication and negotiation difficult. Especially when they are in strong emotional tension. It is best that we remain uninvolved.~ Amanda sighs "I'm sorryyou think so little of me. I honestly couldn't think of a solution" She sags upon her bunk A brow lifts very faintly in reply to Cruyer, but she nods her head, "If you have no further need of me tonight, Minister, I believe I have some files that I need to look over. If you'll excuse me." She doesn't seem to care whether she gets the approval or not, as she turns to address Voliarin, smiling tiredly. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, Rin. Thanks for the coffee." ~It's okay.~ Voliarin sends, ~I'm sure I can always make more, but you'll have to use part normal water now so I don't run out.~ Kastaprulyi shifts close to Anorelezuixal, comforted by the touch. ~Captain Ranix expects all the crew people to be involved in Athena stuff somehow, even when we don't seem really suited, to me,~ Kas explains. ~Maybe if there're more problems, I can get help for them somehow...~ ~I am not a ship's captain, and I cannot really relate to the workings of Captain Ranix's mind,~ says Anorel, giving off a mild feeling of confusion and frustration. The Centauran equivalent of a sigh. ~But I am sure she has reasons for the way in which she runs things. All humans have reasons for what they do. Understanding those reasons is what is difficult.~ Cruyer nods faintly in Raisa's direction. "I'm going to get some coffee," he announces gruffly and he heads in to the wardroom. Raisa strides on past Voliarin, giving him a nod of her head, "That's perfectly fine, Rin," she replies softly. "Sleep well, if you do." And then she wanders off in search of a quiet place to work. 2z